Maedhros
Maedhros, also called Maedhros the Tall,The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter V: "Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalië" was one of the princes of the Ñoldor, the eldest of the seven Sons of Fëanor and head of the House of Fëanor following the death of his father in Middle-earth. He was extraordinarily renowned for his skill both as a warrior and as a diplomat. For hundreds of years, he led his House against the forces of Morgoth but the Oath that he and his six brothers had sworn to recover the Silmarils constrained him and ultimately led to his death. Biography Maedhros was born in Eldamar, probably in Tirion, to Fëanor and Nerdanel sometime during the Noontide of Valinor. After the flight of Fëanor from Tirion in Valinor, he went with his father to Formenos. When Morgoth killed Finwë and stole Fëanor's beloved Silmarils, Maedhros was the first son to take the terrible Oath of Fëanor to recover the holy jewels.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter IX: "Of the Flight of the Noldor" Maedhros participated in the First Kinslaying alongside his father and brothers. He was however the only one of Fëanor's sons not to participate in the burning of the Teleri ships, and in fact advocated for ships and oarsmen to return to Aman to ferry Fingolfin's host. After landing in Middle-earth, the Ñoldor were attacked by an army of Orcs, leading to the Dagor-nuin-Giliath. The Elves were victorious and the remnants of the Orcish army retreated to Angband, pursued by Fëanor and a small vanguard. But Fëanor's force encountered a number of Balrogs as they approached Angband, and were quickly slain. Fëanor himself was dealt a mortal wound by Gothmog, the Lord of the Balrogs, but Maedhros and his brothers arrived with a relief force to rescue him. However, Fëanor died from his wounds shortly thereafter. Shortly after the Dagor-nuin-Giliath and the death of Fëanor, an embassy came from Morgoth acknowledging defeat, and offering terms which included the possibility of surrendering a Silmaril. Maedhros did not trust Morgoth, and so went to meet his embassy with more men than agreed upon. But Morgoth too had been expecting treachery, and so sent further more troops, including Balrogs. When the two groups met, the Elves were quickly slain and Maedhros was captured. Morgoth then sent word to the Elves that if they forsook their war against him, Maedhros would be released. But the Elves knew that Morgoth would not honor his word and sent no reply. In response, Morgoth bolted Maedhros by the wrist of his right hand to the face of a precipice of Thangorodrim.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIII: "Of the Return of the Ñoldor" Shortly thereafter the host of Fingolfin, betrayed by Fëanor and abandoned in Aman, came at last to Middle-earth. The people of Fingolfin, harboring great anger over Fëanor's betrayal, were not welcomed by Fëanor's host for shame, and the two groups remained bitterly divided. But Maedhros's cousin Fingon, with whom he had been very close before the sundering of the Ñoldor, set out to free him, both for the sake of their friendship and in an attempt to heal the division amongst his people. The recent appearance of the Sun and Moon had prompted Morgoth to blanket the sky above Angband with nigh-impenetrable clouds of ash and smoke to shield his servants. Aided by this darkness and the fact the Morgoth's legions were hiding underground from the newly made lights, Fingon managed to reach Thangorodrim unmolested. But seeing that he could not enter Angband by any means, he began to sing a song in defiance of the Orcs hiding within Angband. Maedhros heard this song, and began to sing with Fingon, and thus Fingon managed to find him upon the slopes of Thangorodrim. But when he reached the foot of the precipice from which Maedhros hung, he found that there was no way to reach Maedhros to free him. Seeing that there was nothing Fingon could do to help him and being in agony without hope of respite, Maedhros begged Fingon to shoot him. Fingon made to do as Maedhros wished, but before he loosed his arrow, he prayed to Manwë to speed the arrow along for Maedhros's sake. Fingon's plea for mercy was heard by Thorondor, the King of Eagles, who stayed Fingon's hand and flew him to Maedhros. But Fingon was unable to either affect the metal band from which Maedhros hung or draw it from the precipice. Maedhros begged Fingon for death once again, but Fingon instead severed Maedhros‘s hand and Thorondor bore them both away from Thangorodrim. Maedhros made a swift recovery, but never forgot his torment, which drove him to become an even deadlier swordsman with his left hand than he had ever been with his right. In gratitude for his rescue, and in atonement for Fëanor's betrayal, Maedhros relinquished all claim as the heir of Finwë and made his Uncle Fingolfin, Fingon's father, High King of the Ñoldor, something his brothers did not take well to. Maedhros openly acknowledged this action as being proper however, as Fingolfin was the oldest living son of Finwë and was therefore next in line for the throne. Seeing that his brothers were likely to cause feuds with their kinsmen, Maedhros moved them out of Hithlum, and later ruled the lands around the Hill of Himring,The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIV: "Of Beleriand and its Realms" which became known as the March of Maedhros. He established there a mighty fortress city not only to separate his rash and fiery brothers from the people of Fingolfin, but because he wished to have any attack from Angband fall first upon him. Allied with Fingolfin, he helped the High King win the battle of Dagor Aglareb. He stood with Fingolfin for nearly 300 years until the Dagor Bragollach, and thanks to his daring deeds during the battle, Himring stood while many other elven realms fell. Soon after, he learned of Beren and Lúthien's successful quest to liberate a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown. Realizing that Morgoth was not invincible, he took hope and gathered his brothers and united with other Elven Houses to create the Union of Maedhros, hoping to end the dominion of Morgoth forever. However, the Union was utterly broken during the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. Himring was garrisoned by Orcs, and Maedhros and his brothers fled south, taking refuge upon the hill of Amon Ereb.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XX: "Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad" Several years later, Maedhros and his brothers learned that Elwing of Doriath, granddaughter of Lúthien and Beren, had inherited the Silmaril that her grandparents had recovered from Morgoth. Still driven by the Oath, Maedhros allowed Celegorm to convince him to attack Doriath. During the battle, Celegorm, Caranthir, and Curufin were slain by Beren's son, Dior Eluchil, the King of Doriath, but he himself was slain as well. Dior's sons, Eluréd and Elurín, were captured and abandoned by Celegorm's cruel servants in the forests around Doriath. Maedhros bitterly regretted this deed, and he long searched for the innocent youths but could not find them.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XXII: "Of the Ruin of Doriath" After learning that Elwing had survived and had taken the Silmaril with her, he and his surviving brothers descended with an army upon the remnants of the people of Doriath living in the Havens of Sirion. The Ñoldorin princes killed many elves and captured Elwing's sons Elrond and Elros in the sack, but she and her husband Eärendil escaped to the West with the jewel. Heartsick with the burden of the Oath and the deeds he had participated in to see it fulfilled, Maedhros and his brother Maglor took Elwing's sons under their protection. After the War of Wrath, he and his last surviving brother, Maglor, demanded the jewels from Eönwë but were denied, as they were judged by the Maia to be unworthy of the jewels due to their cruelty. However, driven onward by the Oath, Maedhros convinced Maglor of the necessity of fulfilling it. As such, one night the two brothers snuck into the camp of the victorious Host of the West, slew the guard around the jewels and laid hands upon them. The camp was roused, and the brothers prepared to die defending their claim. But Eönwë ordered the brothers to be spared, and they left the camp unharmed. But because of the evil deeds committed by the brothers to regain the jewels, they burned in Maglor's and Maedhros' hands. Unable to bear the suffering, Maedhros cast himself and the Silmaril he carried into a fiery chasm in the Earth.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XXIV: "Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath" Etymology His father-name was Nelyafinwë ("Finwë the Third"), from the Quenya nelya ("third"),The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XI: The War of the Jewels, Part Four: Quendi and Eldar, C. The Clan-names, with notes on other names for divisions of the Eldar and its shorter form is Nelyo. His mother Nerdanel called him Maitimo ("Well-shaped one") for he was "of beautiful bodily form". His first epessë was Russandol ("Copper top"), referring to his auburn hair.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XII: The Peoples of Middle-earth, chapter XI: "The Shibboleth of Fëanor" The second epessë Maedhros is the Sindarin translation of Maitimo and Russandol, from the Sindarin maed ("shapely") and ross ("red-haired").The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XII: The Peoples of Middle-earth, chapter XI: "The Shibboleth of Fëanor", Note 65 The Quenyan Maidhros means "Pale-glitter".The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies" Character Maedhros had a fierce spirit, hardened by his torment by Morgoth on Thangorodrim, but was more temperate than his father. He was an exceptionally skilled swordsman despite the loss of his right hand. He was well known for his handsome, comely appearance, especially his auburn hair, which was a contrast with his royal kin's dark hair. He was also known for his skill in diplomacy, as he was able to keep the peace between the House of Fëanor and the rest of his kinsmen for hundreds of years despite the rash and fiery nature of most of his brothers. Gallery Translations References ca:Maedhros de:Maedhros es:Maedhros fr:Maedhros it:Maedhros pl:Maedhros ru:Маэдрос Category:Sindarin words Category:High Elves Category:Noldor Category:The Silmarillion Characters Category:Characters in The History of Middle-earth